CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Now that Akron's 83-80 double overtime win Sunday vs. Ohio University has had time to marinate, a look back reveals the Zips toughest opponent this season may actually be themselves.

Akron's issues remain. But the fact is, at the mid-major level, every team has issues to overcome. Last season, without Quincy Diggs, the Zips lacked perimeter athleticism, but still wound up with a share of the Mid-American Conference regular season title and the overall MAC Tournament crown.

This season Diggs and his athleticism are back, but Akron is without a traditional point guard. The perimeter shooting is hit-or-miss, and the free throw line remains a danger zone. Deal with it, and carry on.

Until proven otherwise, Akron still has the most dominant baseline in the league, and a capable finisher in Diggs. That is where the Zips win.

Pulling out a road victory in Athens, O. was huge for the Zips (10-5, 2-0), and now sets them up for another title run, if they can continue to play as they did vs. the Bobcats. Get used to the 17 turnovers. That was offset by 17 offensive rebounds, which was a huge number on a night when OU's Jon Smith had a personal record of eight blocked shots.

The biggest offensive board of the game was hauled in by Akron's Demetrius Treadwell, one possession after he had his shot blocked three straight times. He skied for an Akron miss, grabbed it, and powered his way to the hoop without a flinch.

"Straight willpower,'' Treadwell said.

In the end the Zips produced 14 second-chance points, again balancing out those turnovers, and finished with a narrow 36-34 edge over the Bobcats in points in the paint. That's who the Zips are this season. Waiting for point guards Nyles Evans (0-for-5 shooting, two huge missed free throws in OT) or Carmelo Betancourt (0 points, 2 turnovers) to change their stripes seems a lost cause.

The Zips will have to live with Diggs with the ball down the stretch and hope most nights end as it did in Athens. The 6-6 senior offset his five turnovers with 20 points and seven rebounds, 14 of those points coming in the final four minutes of regulation and the double OT.

That included a 3-pointer with 12 seconds to play in the first overtime to cut a four-point OU lead to 70-69. Then, after the Bobcats' Nick Kellogg split a pair of free throws, Diggs' jumper sent the Zips to the second overtime. He then gave Akron the lead for good, 83-80, when he rebounded his own miss and floated in what proved to be the winner with 34-seconds to play.

That is how the Zips now stand at the top of the MAC East, and the Bobcats (11-4, 1-1) a step behind.

On the road: Cleveland State (10-7, 2-1) travels tonight to play at Youngstown State (10-8, 1-2), 7 p.m. in a Horizon League game that could start to give the Vikings some momentum in the conference race with a road victory.

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